Early Memories

It has been documented that children do not start forming memories until they reach the age of 3 - 3 ½ . It’s really amazing to me to think that we can exist in this dynamic world, absorbing an incredible amount of information and learning at a pace that far bypasses any college curriculum; and yet, be unable to recall actual moments from the first several years of our existence. It makes me sad knowing that my kids will probably not be able to remember the times I rocked them to sleep while singing their very own songs which I composed; how it felt to dance the day away to sounds of Raffi; or the countless hugs and kisses from their Grandma Karen. Thank God for pictures and video.

I don't really have any memories prior to age 5. And unfortunately, the few I can think of off the top of my head right now, have absolutely nothing to do with great vacations, wonderful family bonding moments or life-altering experiences. In fact, it's a little scary to think about what my kids will remember... Anyway, here's my memories:

Memory #1) “Huh…who is that little boy?” I’m sure you all remember how exciting it was on the day yearly school pictures arrived. Well, that was my exact thought after looking at the photo my mom held up for me to see. To provide a little background, up until Kindergarten, I had really long, beautiful, wavy hair. Apparently it got to be too overwhelming for my mom to handle with raising three girls ages 5, 3, and 1. So, before I started school, she decided to get my hair cut into a “cute, short little pixie style”. To this day, I’m not really sure what a pixie style is, but that’s what she always called it when I asked her about it in the years following. I don’t know if the haircut was still new to me, or if I really didn’t have a concept of my appearance. Either way, I looked like a boy.

Memory #2) Absolute humiliation and embarrassment while cleaning mud from the floor of my Kindergarten room with paper towels. Most days, I would walk the short, 1-block jaunt to school. On the way, I’d pick up my friend Nikki Wanner, whose house was across the street from the school playground. This particular day we must have decided to walk straight through a mud puddle. We tracked little muddy footprints all over our classroom. A very irate Mrs. Greco made us crawl across the floor, cleaning mud with paper towels while all our classmates watched us. Keep in mind that I was a painfully shy child who didn’t like to call one bit of attention to myself at all. I’m pretty sure I cried of embarrassment when I got home that day! I wonder if Nikki remembers that?

Memory #3) "I’m not voting for Jimmy Carter. His teeth are too big." It was the 1976 presidential election – Gerald Ford(R) vs. Jimmy Carter(D). Mrs. Ackerman, our first grade teacher, had given us our “Weekly Reader” and instructed us to complete the Presidential Election Ballot on the back page. There was each candidate’s name with a blank check-box next to their pictures. I voted for Gerald Ford that day because Jimmy Carter’s teeth were much too big for his mouth. Now, my family has never been political. At all. In fact, I’m sure it was never a topic of conversation during my entire childhood except for this one instance. When I went home that afternoon, I asked my mom about the election. I clearly remember her saying that I did the right thing by voting for Ford since there aren’t any Democrats in South Dakota anyway.






I'd love to hear some of your first memories as well!